The sperm whale (Physeter catodon) is the largest toothed whale. It has the biggest head of any animal. The head can be about 20 feet (6.1 m) long, and is about one-third of the whale's body. Its lower jaw is small and contains its huge, conical teeth (which fit into sockets in the upper jaw).

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Diet

Sperm whales are carnivores (meat-eaters). They mostly hunt medium-sized squid. They also eat many kinds of fish such as skate. Sometimes they hunt giant squid that live on the ocean bottom at great depths. They can dive up to 2250 m and stay underwater for 1 hour. The largest bulls (males) will sometimes even eat colossal squid.

Size

Sperm whales can reach up to 20.5m long, and weigh up to 57,000kg.

Echolocation

Like other toothed whales, the sperm whale uses echolocation, a way of sensing in which they emit high-pitched clicks and sense them as they bounce back off objects (like prey). This is crucial in hunting in the dark ocean depths.

Images for kids

Unusual among cetaceans, the sperm whale's blowhole is highly skewed to the left of the head

The lower jaw is long and narrow. The teeth fit into sockets along the upper jaw.

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